Children are quick!

TEACHER: Why are you late?

STUDENT: Class started before I got here.

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TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this child)
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree,

but also admitted it.
Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.....
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TEACHER: Now, Simon , tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
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TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's..

Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.

(I want to adopt this kid!!!)
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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people

are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
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PASS IT AROUND AND MAKE SOMEONE LAUGH!
LAUGHTER IS THE SOUL'S MEDICINE!!

Ode to my Son’s Son

One small child with hair like corn silk and

eyes as blue as the sky holds the strings to my heart.

His smile lights up the day as bright as the sun.

The love that shines in his eyes when he gives a big hug and a wet kiss is worth more than all the gold in a king's realm.

He tugs on those strings and I go to be with him at once. He laughs, I laugh; he cries, I cry; he hurts and I hurt.

I kiss it and make it well...he's my son's son and he holds the strings to my heart in his hands.

Grandma 1995

This little poem has a story behind it.  At the time it was written, I was a fairly new grandma and was totally captivated by my grandson.  I was sent to Atlanta, Georgia, the headquarters for BellSouth by whom I was employed at the time, for a course in Effective Communication Skills which included some training in simplicity, or tailoring our business correspondence using no more than the average sixth-grade vocabulary words, since that is what most of us use in our daily conversation anyway, unless there are special, technical terms  involved.

Anyway, our instructor gave the class an assignment to write something---anything we wanted, except we could only use words with one syllable each.  It didn't matter what format we used so long as we limited the words to one syllable to prove the point that simplicity could work in creating effective communications.  The catch was, we only had ten minutes.

I sat thinking for probably at least five of the minutes, then I started to write and the poem above was my contribution to the assignment.  When the teacher returned to the room, we had to read what we had written out loud to everyone.  Some were really pretty good, but some were like the old "Dick & Jane" books from the fifties..."I have a dog.  His name is spot...." type sentences were the prevailing style.  When I read my little poem, everyone just looked at me sort of funny.  One little guy thought I needed to put it on a crossstitch pillow, others wanted me to submit it for publication.  I haven't ever done anything with it other than post it once in a while on various places or share it with a few people, but it has remained special to me.  I couldn't even name it "Ode to Timothy" to turn it in because Timothy had too many syllables.  Hence, the original name was, "Ode to my son's son."

This "little guy" is now a sophomore in college, 19 years old and is still holding onto my heartstrings along with four more grandsons and one granddaughter.  Being a grandma is a most special blessing from God.  My husband says "Grandchildren are God's gift to us for  not killing our own children," but he's just joking around.  He loves all six of them with every fiber of his being and so do I.  I don't think there is any relationship that is more special among God's children other than our relationship with Him.

Thank you for taking the time to read my little story and my favorite poem.

Reflections on Death

When I was young, I didn't think much about death, except when my grandma died when I was 8 and my grandpa died when I was 14. I wasn't there to experience when my Dad died when I was 13, so it was sort of unreal for me. We didn't know until about two weeks after his funeral that he had died. He and my mom were divorced and we were in Texas and he lived in Tennessee but was visiting my half-brother, Kenneth, in West Virginia when he died. Kenneth said he didn't know how to reach us, so it was only when a letter returned with a stamp on it by the post office saying he was deceased that we knew. We had not been with him very much since I was four years old and he went to live at the Mountain Home V.A. Hospital and barracks. We only saw him when he was on furlough or leave, so even that didn't have a hard impact on me.

Now that I'm getting older (I'm 66) and my body parts don't function as well as they once did. As they say, after 50 half of what I've got doesn't work and the other half hurts. ;-) I told my hubby and some friends at church that I think the good Lord planned it that way so that by the time he gets ready to call us home, we will be so sick and tired of hurting and being sick and tired that we will be ready to go home when He calls and we won't cling to life quite as strongly as we did when we were young. I know I will hate to leave my family and friends, but I also know they will be coming along as God wills and I will be reunited with the rest of my family who are already there. Since missing them wouldn't be very heavenly, I don't think the good Lord will allow us to miss them. Either He'll keep us so busy taking in the sights and meeting and greeting family we haven't yet met or keep us so busy with choir practice or something that we won't have time to miss the people we've left behind.

That's why I don't believe that when we go to Heaven we won't see what goes on down on Earth. It would just be too painful and wouldn't be Heavenly at all to see our loved ones hurt, suffer and die, whether from natural causes or in accidents. I believe the Bible when we're told there will be no more sorrow, no pain and no tears in Heaven, so we can't see our loved ones hurting.

I hope when my time comes I will gladly go, but I have mixed emotions about how I'd rather go if I had my 'druthers'. I'm not sure if I'd like to go peacefully in my sleep unexpectedly, or if I'd rather have at least a few days, weeks or months of knowing so I can tell everyone Good-bye before I go.

Afraid of dying, no, I'm no longer afraid of it. Like the old song says, 'Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die. Lord I wanta go to Heaven, but I don't wanta die'. There's a lot of truth in that, I'm in no hurry, my body doesn't hurt that bad yet, but it doesn't frighten me as much because I know at least a little bit of what it will be like. I think sometimes, when someone is really ready in their heart, we do them a diservice by begging the Lord to let them live because we are hurting at losing them, especially when they are in a great deal of pain and suffering or their mind has already deserted them, but medical science is causing their bodies to survive. I sort of believe when we pray really hard and God hears it from so many of us, He has mercy on us and lets them survive a little bit longer so we can get ready to let go, but sometimes I think it is time we need to let go and pray for a peaceful passing for them and consolation for ourselves.

We shouldn't be so afraid of death for our loved ones either. Just think of the rewards awaiting them if they know the Lord. If they don't know the Lord, that should be the main focus of our prayers; that someone will be able to reach them and bring them to the Lord before they die. That's the time to be afraid of death because if they don't know the Lord, they are heading for eternal damnation and suffering. That's the only time to fear death; when someone is dying who hasn't yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

These are my personal opinions and I didn't get them from any preacher or seminary. They are based on my personal observations over the years I have lived. You may certainly disagree with it and that's okay. I won't hold a grudge and I only pray you won't.

HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD

1. Pray NOTHING hinders your child from accepting Christ as his/her personal Savior early in life. (Matthew 19:14)

2. Pray your child learns to know God and will have a deep desire to do God's will for his/her life. (Psalms 119:27,30,34,35).

3. Pray child hears stories from the Bible that will be a basis for his/her decisions throughout life. (Ecclesiastes 12:1, Psalms 71:17).

4. Pray child will-develop a keen sense of right and wrong and that he/she will truly abhor evil and cling to that which is good. (Psalms 139:23-4).

5. Pray child will increase in wisdom (mentally) and in stature (physically) and in favor with God (spiritually) and man (socially). (Luke 2:52). This prayer covers his/her total development to his/her full potential.

6. Pray that child will develop a thankful heart and a positive mental attitude. (Psalm 126:2-3, Romans 8:31)

7. Pray that God protect child from Satan and his/her wiles in every area of his/her life. (John 17:55, Psalm 121)

8. Pray that God would destroy the enemies in his/her life whether they be weaknesses, lying, selfishness etc. (Psalms 120:2; 140).

9. Pray that God would make him/her successful in the work God has for him/her to do. (Psalm 118:25, 139:9-10)

10. Pray he/she have a strong sense of belonging to a family that is loving and dwells together in unity (Psalms 133, Colossians 3:12-14).

11. Pray he/she will respect authority. (Romans 13:1, Ephesians 6:1-4).

12. Pray that his/her entire life will be a testimony of the greatness and love of Christ. (Phillippians 2:15-16 Thess 5:2-3)

If you pray one of these a month, you will have your child covered for a year!

-- Author Unknown

Satan's Master Strategy

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said,

"We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth....."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their SAVIOR.."

"Once they gain that connection with JESUS, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with JESUS CHRIST."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their SAVIOR and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered....

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape
from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or I-Pod whenever they drive." To keep the TV, DVDs, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with CHRIST."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. "

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."

"Give them headaches too!"

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about HIS resurrection and power over sin and death..."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on GOD'S creation.

Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from JESUS."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier & more rushed, going here & there.

Having little time for their GOD or their families..

Having no time to tell others about the power of JESUS to change lives.

I guess the question is...has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

There is no SIN that SATISFIES the HEART

"God is Looking For You - You Are the Perfect Fit For His Plan"

This one was posted on Facebook and it was just such a great devotional topic, I felt it was worthwhile to post it here. They granted permission if I left the information on it's origin at the bottom, so I did. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Victoria Boyson: "God is Looking For You - You Are the Perfect Fit For His Plan"
by Victoria Boyson
Aug 29, 2009


I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.—Isaiah 41:19-20

God is looking for a desert, so He can create a forest. Do you feel like a barren desert? If there seem to be 100 reasons why God would never use you, then rejoice, because those are the 100 reasons why He will use you. When God is looking for someone to change the world, He looks for the most unlikely candidate. He has to use someone, why not you!

When God began looking for someone in whom He could build a great nation, He saw Sarah (see Genesis 17:16). Wait a minute! Sarah was old and barren; she'd had no children. How could God build a nation from such as she? It was impossible, right? BUT God looks at the impossible and sees a promise. Why did God select Sarah? It was her barrenness that drew Him to her. It was the impossibility of her situation that made her the perfect candidate for a miracle.

Are you living with an impossible situation? If you are, then rejoice, because you are a perfect candidate for a miracle from God. It is your need that has drawn Him to you. If God sees a mighty nation in your belly, then believe Him. He is able to perform it.

God Wants to Do More for You

One of my favorite stories is the story of Cinderella. This story represents to me the heart of God. Cinderella lived with a stepmother who despised her, and her greatest dream was to be loved. She was not dreaming of being a princess—that was too much for her to even conceive of. Her reason for going to the ball was to find a man who would love her. However, she was destined to find not just any man; her destiny was to marry the prince. The man that every other eligible female was dreaming of and conniving to get, was intended for her.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...—Ephesians 3:20

As princess she would be loved and admired by not just a man, but also a nation. Just like with God, when He is looking for a princess, He goes to the scullery and sees in a servant girl the ability to rule a nation. If life has pressed you down, then you need to rejoice! If life has passed you by, then you need to rejoice! If you feel forgotten and unloved, then you need to rejoice! You are just the one God is looking for to change the world!

Sing, o barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman... (Isaiah 54:1). Enlarge the place of your tent... (Isaiah 54:2) because God is looking for you.

Do Not Limit God

When I was in school, my favorite sport was basketball. My problem was that I was only 5'2" tall. Yet I became quite proficient at basketball because I refused to let my size dictate to me my ability to play the game and my coach use to use me as an example to the other girls. I was one of the smallest girls on the team, but I learned to be aggressive and go after the ball no matter how big the other girls were. Much like Jael in Judges 4.

Jael was a woman who was at home in her tent while the men of Israel were out fighting a battle against Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army. God had promised to deliver Sisera into the hands of Barak, the leader of the Israelite army, but because of his unbelief, God delivered him instead into the hands of a woman. That woman was Jael. Jael was at home minding the house when, out of nowhere, Sisera arrives on foot to the door of her tent. She lured him into her tent to rest.

But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.—Judges 4:21

Jael was probably the last one that Barak considered would win the battle for Israel that day, but God chose her for that very reason. God was sending us a message: We cannot limit Him! He refuses to be put in a box! Tell Him He can't do something and that is just what He will do. Give Him a desert and He'll make a forest. Give Him a servant girl and He'll make her a princess. Give Him a housewife and He'll make her a warrior. Give Him your barrenness and He'll make for you a great nation.

So that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.—Isaiah 41:20

This is God's heart concerning us. He sees beyond our weaknesses and sees a mighty warrior. He calls those things that are not, as though they were. If you feel discarded by life, then rejoice, because God is looking for you! You are a perfect fit for His purpose.

In the story of Cinderella, after she runs away from the ball, everyone is looking for her. The highest officials in the kingdom, even the grand duke, were searching furiously for her. Who was she that the entire kingdom was looking for her? She was the perfect fit! She was the only one that fit the glass slipper.

And God says to you today: "You are the only one who can fill the 'shoes' that I am preparing for you. You are what I'm looking for. You are what I need."

The Shunammite Woman

In 2 Kings 4:8-37, Elisha lived in the home of a Shunammite woman, in a room she had made especially for him. Whenever he traveled through that area, he stayed at her home and she asked for nothing in return for the kindness she had given him. It was difficult for her to receive the blessing. She had blessed the man of God and had asked for nothing in return for her kindness, but God desired to bless her anyway. So Elisha sought out her need and, finding she had no son, spoke life into her situation.

Her heart was so tender; she could not even receive the words he spoke to her. She couldn't bring herself to hope again. Her disappointment at having no son was a death to her heart. She had learned to live with it—her husband was well advanced in years and he'd given her no sons to call her "Mama". It was a great pain to her, but she had learned to cope with her disappointment. But knowing how great her pain was, she did not want to be disappointed again.

"About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will have a son in your arms." "No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"—2 Kings 4:16

A heart so bruised, a pain so deep that you cannot stand to hope again. The Shunammite woman knew she could not go through another disappointment. This was an area of her heart that was still very raw. Her longing for a son was so great she was unwilling to entrust her heart to anyone. Into this painful situation, God breathed the breath of life. He raised her hope from the dead and she bore a son (verse 17).

God did for her what was above and beyond all she could ask or hope or even think (Ephesians 3:20). He raised her hopes from the dead (2 Kings 4:36)! God sought her out to give her a miracle and He's doing the same for you today!

Have you been discarded by life? Then rejoice, because God is looking for YOU! Say "yes" to Him today! You are the "perfect fit" for God's plan!

Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries
Email: victoria@boyson.org


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